US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the US military will be prepared to carry out whatever US President Donald Trump decides on Iran to ensure Tehran does not pursue nuclear weapons capability.
With a large US military force gathered in the region, Hegseth is asked by Trump at a cabinet meeting to comment on the situation.
“They should not pursue nuclear capabilities. We will be prepared to deliver whatever this president expects of the War Department,” Hegseth says, referring to the Trump administration’s unofficial renaming of the Defense Department.
US officials say Trump is reviewing his options but has not decided whether to strike Iran.
US-Iranian tensions soared following a bloody crackdown on protests across Iran by its clerical authorities in recent weeks.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene if Iran continued to kill protesters, but the countrywide demonstrations over economic privations and political repression have since abated. He has said the United States would act if Tehran resumed its nuclear program after the June airstrikes by Israeli and US forces on key nuclear installations.
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Thursday, January 29, 2026
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